Badge belt : Private E C N Devlin, 18 Battalion, AIF

Webbing waist belt containing a regimental badge and buttons from various units. The brass buckle and tongue of the belt are both intact. The only regimental badge on the belt is for the Royal Engineers. The buttons represent artillery units, Royal Marines Light Infantry, a Light rail company, the AIF and a fusiliers regiment. there is also a Turkish shirt or tunic button containing the crescent moon and the five pointed star and a NSW Military Forces button.

Summary

Associated with the service of Private Errol Cappie Nepean Devlin, who was born in Penrith, NSW in 1891. When the First World War began, Devlin was amongst the first to volunteer for service in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) which was being raised to seize German interests in New Guinea and surrounding islands. He enlisted on 12 August 1914 with the service number 91 and was posted to A Company, 1 (Tropical) Battalion. He sailed from Sydney a week after enlisting aboard HMAT A35 Berrima.

After a brief stop at Palm Island, the ANMEF sailed for German New Guinea and began landing troops at Kabakaul, New Britain on 11 September. After some short, but savage fighting, the German forces surrendered and the British Flag was raised over Rabaul on 12 September. Within five days all hostilities were declared over.

Devlin became part of the garrison force on New Britain. He collected several native weapons during his service, bringing them back to Australia when he returned at the end of February 1915. He was discharged from the ANMEF on 4 March 1915.

Devlin enlisted in the AIF on 29 March as a private with the service number 1166 and was posted to 'D' Company, 18 Infantry Battalion. After completing his initial training, Devlin embarked with the battalion from Sydney aboard HMAT A40 Ceramic for Egypt in May. From June until early August, 18 Battalion spent much of their time training for service at Gallipoli.

The battalion landed at Gallipoli on 20 August. They were given no time to acclimatise to their surroundings before being thrown into the Australian's final offensive on the Gallipoli Peninsular, the Battle for Hill 60. The battalion suffered heavy casualties over the following days, with 50% of the men killed or wounded. The offensive lasted until 29 August, when the battalion was withdrawn. For the remainder of the campaign, they were engaged in a purely defensive role, spending most of their time in the front line at Courtney's Post.

Following the evacuation from Gallipoli, 18 Battalion returned to Egypt for a period of further training and an influx of much needed reinforcements. During this time Devlin began a collection of badges from other units to pin to a belt. In March, the battalion embarked for service in France, arriving at Marseilles towards the end of the month. 18 Battalion moved up to the Nursery Sector near Armentieres and went into the front line for the first time in April near Bois Grenier.

The battalion spent more time in the line in May, learning to patrol no man's land and other intricacies of trench warfare. German snipers were quite active in this area of the front and at the end of May, a number of men from 18 Battalion were killed by snipers, including Private Devlin. His body was taken to the Brewery Orchard Cemetery at Bois Grenier where he was buried.